


I would get beat to Smithereens

by dunwitu



Category: Doctor Strange - Fandom, Iron Man - Fandom, Marvel
Genre: Fluff, Getting Together, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, IronStrange, M/M, No character bashing, Other, Playing Hard to Get, Sassy Stephen Strange, Sassy Tony Stark, Soulmarks, Soulmate AU, Team Iron Man, There will be consequences for the rogues, Tony Stark has a heart (somewhat), and Tony will be mad, awkward dinners, but like, car crashes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-03-26 15:24:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19008541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dunwitu/pseuds/dunwitu
Summary: Stephen has always wanted to find his soulmate.Tony has cared less, until recently.(Title from ‘Smithereens’ by Twenty One Pilots)





	1. Stephen

**Author's Note:**

> Haha hi sorry this chapter is kinda bad it’s suuuuposed to be an intro. Also, if anyone else has a story like this no plagiarism or copying intended alright thanks my dudes

Everyone is born with a mark on their forearm.  
Some have little stars or hearts. Some have random symbols or words or numbers. But everyone was born with one. These marks help you find your soulmate, since only they have the matching one. The worst part of having a soulmark, whenever your soulmate is in pain, the mark burns. The more severe the pain, the more severe the burn. Many believe this makes it easier to find your mate, but it doesn’t make the pain any less bearable. 

Some didn’t want to find their soulmate, and if they did wanted to remain friends. Some believed you could find love with someone who wasn’t your soulmate. Some didn’t want to find love. 

Stephen was one who wanted to find his soulmate, as many others did. He had a relatively simple mark, just the number 3000. He knew many people who had very intricate designs, like one of his colleagues had a dragon woven around her forearm. But Stephen liked his mark, and thought that it would be easy to find his soulmate. 

Boy was he wrong. 

He hadn’t exactly felt anything pain from the mark until around February 2008. It randomly spiked with an almost unbearable pain. He had been in the middle of surgery, when the pain spread from his forearm, so badly he could barely move. Thankfully, he was right handed and his mark, was on his left arm, so he didn’t make any unnecessary incisions. But, it still hurt like hell. 

He later heard that the billionaire, Tony Stark had gone missing and wondered if his mark had anything to do with it, then chidded himself. There was no way in hell that he, was destined to be with Tony Stark...right?

For the next three months, his arm hurt more and more often, and he found himself checking the news daily for updates on Tony Stark's whereabouts. It was foolish, seeing as he didn’t even know if that was his soulmate for god's sake. But something about him just made Stephen believe it to be him. 

The day he was found, Stephen was overjoyed, and he still didn’t quite understand why. He still didn’t know for sure that they were soulmates Maybe it was because you followed the news so frequently? A small voice told him. He wanted to believe it, but some part of him couldn’t just take that as the truth. So, he decided to talk to Christine. 

“I don’t know..have you not been able to find a picture that his arm isn’t covered? That would help a lot.” Christine said the next day, after he explained the situation. 

“All of the pictures I could find of him, either he had a bracelet of some sort covering his arm, or it was too blurry for me to see.” Stephen replied dejectedly.

“Well, how about you try to talk to him? Maybe you could find something out?” Stephen could tell that she was trying to give false hope, and no matter how much he appreciated her attempts, they didn’t really help. 

“Yeah, because that would go over well. “Um, hi I think we’re soulmates because I stalked you for the last three months and when you got kidnapped my arm hurt for those three months.” Face it, Chris. It’s hopeless.”

“I guess you have a point…” Christine trailed off, until her eyes lit up, the way they always did when she had some sort of idea. 

“What is it?” Stephen sighed. 

“What if, you went to one of Starks many charity dinners? He hosts those all the time!” She exclaimed. Stephen did see that she had a point. 

“Yeah, I guess. But, how would I fit in going to one of those high- class dinners?” He asked. Christine gave him one of her “looks”. 

“Steph. I think with all this, you forgot, you’re Doctor Stephen Strange, the famous neurosurgeon. You’re more well known than you give yourself credit for. You’d fit right in.” 

“Alright, I guess you have a point.” Stephen consented. “So, do you know when the next one is?”

“Actually, there’s one coming up in about a week or two.” She said excitedly. 

“What a coincidence.” Stephen mumbled. “Alright, one last thing. Will you come as my unofficial date?” She rolled her eyes. 

“Fine. But, you better do your absolute best to find out.” She said, and turned to leave. 

“No promises!” He called over his shoulder. She gave a mock glare and with that, Stephen had a plan. 

Well, half a plan. 

13% of a plan? 

An idea.


	2. Tony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Tony was older in Iron Man.
> 
> I’m sorry it’s bad, I swear it’ll get more interesting, this is another intro chapter

Tony has always thought the idea of soulmates was bullshit. 

Like, how is some stupid mark going to dictate who you love? Isn’t love based off of your feelings? His parents had had a (relatively) happy marriage, and their soulmarks didn’t match. 

He had always thought this, until Afghanistan. He had spent all of his time making that suit, all in an immense amount a pain. He had pitied whoever shared his mark, because they obviously must be in the same amount, if not more pain than he was. 

Finally, after three months, he escaped, and was able to return back home. Pepper and Rhodes were so happy to have him back, and Tony was excited to see them! 

But, for once he couldn’t stop thinking about his soulmate, whoever they were. Did they resent him, for putting them through that pain? Did they want to find them? He looked at the 3000 on his arm, for the first time without disgust, but with curiosity, and, hope.   
Maybe having a soulmate isn’t the worst thing. 

He wondered what they were like. What gender? Did they have a job, if so, what was it? What did they look like? What were their passions? 

He continued on, the mark crossing his mind ever so often. He was only 25, so he had plenty of time to find whoever this was. And he ran a multi- billion dollar company, he didn’t have the time to sit around and think about the person who shared his mark. They could be half- way across the world. 

Apparently, he had been acting differently, not concealing his thoughts as well as he had hoped (And He has always thought he had a good poker face.), because Pepper came in one afternoon with her “We need to talk face” on. 

“Hey Tony.” She said, sitting on the couch in his office. 

“Alright, what’s up?” Tony asked suspiciously. 

“Nothing in particular..” She tried, but Tony wasn’t easily fooled. 

“Yep, definitely something wrong. Did I do something? Forget a meeting, Miss a deadline?”

“No! No, you’re fine. You just seem..” Pepper paused, to think of what to say. “Different? Maybe more reserved? You’re always in deep thought. Anything you want to talk about?” Her tone wasn’t pushy, but seemed inviting. 

“Alright, Pep. I guess I’ve been putting..a little more thought into this mark on my arm.” He said, pulling up his sleeve and gesturing to the 3000. “Since Afghanistan. I guess it just put things into perspective, in a way. Does that sound dumb?”

“No..I’m not surprised. It probably made you realize how..human you really are.”

“I guess that’s true.” He sighed and stood up. “But, I don’t have the time to dwell on it. Do we have anything big coming up?” He put his business face on. 

“Let’s see, you have three meetings tomorrow, two the next day..oh! You have that charity dinner on Thursday at eight, don’t forget.” 

“Alright. I should be getting home, thanks Pep.”

“Of course, anything for my best friend.” She smiled. 

“I’m touched.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it! Have a good day if u want to


	3. Stephen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen goes to the charity dinner and finally meets the infamous Tony Stark. 
> 
> He thinks it went better than expected..ish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s up sorry it’s shitty I swear it’ll get more interesting soon.

It was the night of the dinner, and as much as Stephen bullshitted himself, he was not ready for this. 

It was a mix of Oh my god what if he isn’t my soulmate and I’ve been stalking him for the past three and a half months for no reason?? and Oh my god what if he is my soulmate? 

So needless to say, Stephen was a nervous wreck.  
Christine arrived, looking flawless as ever in her classic topaz evening gown, at seven thirty on the dot. 

“I would’ve picked you up.” Stephen said. She laughed lightly and smoothed her dress. 

“I know, but I’m here for moral support more than being your date.” She responded cheerfully. 

“Yeah..so..I mean..what am I supposed to do if it is him? And if it isn’t? We didn’t think this through.” Stephen groaned. 

“Aw c’mon Steph. If it is, than he’ll see your mark.” She gestured to his arm, where it was pretty apparent. “Rely on him to make the first move if you’re really nervous. But, all you have to do is be your normal, cocky self. You’ll fit right in with a bunch of rich people!” She chuckled and elbowed him playfully as he led her out to his car. 

“Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence!” Stephen shot back playfully. 

“This is Tony Stark we’re talking about. If anything, you’d be better off being an ass.” Stephen did have to admit, she had a point. 

“What about you? Any desire to find your soulmate?” He asked. 

“Nah, I’m not the hopeless romantic type. If we are truly “destined” to be together, then we’ll find each other. If we don’t, than I guess we weren’t, and I hope they don’t get themselves hurt too often.” She shrugged nonchalantly. 

Stephen wished he could be as calm as her, but if it was Tony Stark he’s destined to be with, he needs to find out quickly. 

They arrived at eight sixteen, and strolled into the room arm in arm. They truly appeared to be a couple at first glance, but if you looked really close, you could see Stephens hands twitching nervously and Christine giggling slightly. 

“So, may I offer you a refreshment?” Stephen asked sarcastically. Christine rolled her eyes and smiled. 

“You certainly may. I’ll take a White Russian, please.” She said. 

“Of course. I’ll be back.” He said, and wandered off to find the drinks. He didn’t want to say hello to Tony yet, but he did keep his eye out for him. 

Twenty minutes later, Christine and finished her second drink and Stark was nowhere to be found. Stephen was getting nervous but Christine just rolled her eyes. 

“The event lasts until like eleven or twelve. Quit being such a worry wart and enjoy the party.” She responded. Stephen tried to take her advice, but he was constantly on edge, tapping his fingers against whatever surface he was leaning against or tapping his foot impatiently. 

It wasn’t until nine- thirtyish before he arrived. Stephen had over an hour to contemplate what he was gonna say and he was still terrified. 

“Only Tony Stark would turn up fashionably late to his own event.” Christine said. Stephen scoffed. 

“I’ll go talk to him in a minute.” Stephen tried to seem casual, but he could see Christine trying not to laugh. 

“Ooh-Kay. You do that.” She said. Stephen rolled his eyes and tried to keep from being too nervous. 

He decided about fifteen minutes later, he would approach him. He casually strode over, champagne in hand, and nodded to him. 

“Strange. What surprise.” He said. Stephen delicately raises an eyebrow. 

“Whatever do you mean, Stark?” He responded. 

“I’ve hosted my fair share of these and I’ve never seen you here. What gives?” 

“Christine said I should come to this one, so here I am. Besides, I wanted to try something new.” He said. Tony adjusted his arm and he caught a glimpse of the number 3 on his forearm. 

“Makes sense.” Tony replied. 

“So, where’s the money for this event going.” He asked, casually taking a sip of his drink. His jacket sleeve rode up just a bit, enough to see the number 30 on his arm. Stephen saw Tony’s face pale momentarily, before regaining his composure. 

“Oh, just to help fund a new school for the city.” He responded, voice steady. 

“Ah. Well, I’ll leave you to it then.” He said, and nodded to Tony, before striding away to stand next to Christine. 

“Chris. It’s him.” He said quietly. Christine looked shocked. 

“Really? Are you sure?” She whispered back. 

“I saw the number 3 in the exact spot it’s on my arm, and when he saw part of my mark, his face paled.” He responded. Stephen realized this wasn’t really definite proof that he was one- hundred percent his soulmate, but all of this together seemed like he was. 

“So, how do you feel? Did you at least exchanged numbers or something?”

“Well..I’m not sure how I feel. As for numbers..I uh..” Stephen didn’t look at Christine, knowing she wouldn’t be happy with him. 

“You’ve spent over three months trying to figure out if this guy is your soulmate, and you don’t even exchange numbers when you confirm he is?” Christine whispered incredulously. 

“Well…” He sighed. “I work at a pretty large hospital. If it’s truly him, he’ll call.” He said. He thought he had a pretty good argument, but Christine was still glaring at him. 

“You..are going to make me jump off a bridge.” She sighed, rubbing her temples. “Well, if your mission was a success, can we go home? These heels are killing my toes.” She said. Stephen laughed and led her back to the car. 

“All in all, I think it was a success.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s up? The next chapter may take longer to go up because I have finals Tuesday- Friday of next week so I’m sorry. 
> 
> Random question- What’s y’alls OTP Of the MCU?


	4. Tony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony thinks he did well!
> 
> Pepper begs to differ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha hi sorry this chapter is meh but it’s finals week. I wanted to write but I’ve been under stress so this is kinda an oof. Oh well, I hope you like it bros

It was the night of another charity event. Tony has gotten to skip out on the rest since he returned, but Pepper had basically ordered him to go, and Pepper was scary. 

So, he inevitably went, taking his sweet time getting ready. He was about an hour and a half late, gracing the room with his presence at around nine- thirty, much to Peppers annoyance. (What? He always was late! It was his thing!) 

He was leaning against a doorway, drink in hand, when he saw a tall man in a midnight- blue suit approach him. It took him a second, but he recognized the man as Doctor Stephen Strange, a neurologist.

Well well well. I didn’t expect to see him here. 

He nodded to Strange as he approached him.

“Strange. What a surprise.” Tony mused. The taller man raised an eyebrow. 

“Whatever do you mean, Stark?” He replied nonchalantly. 

I’ve hosted my fair share of these and I’ve never seen you here. What gives?” He responded, not really interested in his response. 

“Christine said I should come to this one, so here I am. Besides, I wanted to try something new.” He replied. Tony adjusted his position, feeling his sleeve rise up a bit. 

 

“Makes sense.” Tony replied. 

“So, where’s the money for this event going.” Strange asked, taking a sip of his champagne. Tony saw the number 30 that looked suspiciously familiar. 

Wait. 

Tony put two and two together, (Yes it took him a second, he was in shock ok?) and realized what this meant. 

On one hand, he had found his soulmate. 

On the other, he was not expecting this. 

On the other hand, Strange was close, and worked at a pretty big hospital, so he’d be easy to find. 

On the other hand- okay how many damn hands does he have??

“Oh, just to help fund a new school for the city.” He responded, fighting to keep his voice steady. 

“Ah. Well, I’ll leave you to it then.” He said, and nodded to Tony, before striding away. 

Tony waited until he was out of sight, and then walked into a mostly deserted room to regain his composure. After he believed he had gotten himself together, he walked casually over to Pepper. 

“We need to talk later.” He whispered, and casually strode away to talk to some people who he didn’t know the names of. (Look if he tried to remember every name of every person who’d attended one of these bullshit dinners his mind would be moving faster than it already is.)

Afterward, Tony led Pepper towards the car. He could tell she was curious about what he wanted to talk with her for, but she didn’t say anything until they had gotten to the car and a good distance from the event. 

“So..what is it?” She asked, finally breaking the thick silence. 

“I found him.” He replied simply, trying hard to keeping his hands on the steering wheel and his eyes on the road. 

“Him? You..you found your soulmate..?” She responded, sounding slightly surprised at the fact that, one, he found his soulmate (Can’t blame her.) and two, it’s a guy. 

“I’m as surprised as you are, but to be honest I don’t particularly care.” He shrugged. 

“Neither do I, but yeah I am a little surprised.” Pepper said sheepishly. “Well, who is it and how do you know.”

“Okay, you’re not allowed to judge the amount of proof I have, and you’re gonna have to take my word for it.” Pepper nodded, looking a bit more suspicious. 

“So, drum roll please..his name is Doctor Stephen Strange-“

“The neurosurgeon? Wow, you scored high!” Tony glared at her good- naturedly. “How do you know.”

“I saw part of his mark. Same 30 on the same part of his arm. And he saw part of mine and immediately got flustered for a second.” Tony responded. Pepper nodded slightly. 

“Good proof.”

“I said no judging!” 

“So, did you guys plan anything? Exchange numbers?” She asked, as Tony opened the car door for her.

“About that…” He awkwardly rubbed his neck. 

“Anthony Edward Stark, please tell me you exchanged numbers with the man you are destined to be with.” She looked about ready to stab him. 

“Well..it was a busy place?”

“Don’t try that shit on me. How are you going to find him now??” She asked exasperated. 

“C’mon Pep! He works at a big hospital, he’ll be easy to find!”

“I’m sure they’ll be eager to give some random- ass person his number.”

“I’m Tony Stark, I always get the special treatment.” He joked, wiggling his eyebrows. 

“I think this conversation has given me a few more grey hairs.”

“Aw, you love me.” He responded, giving her a sideways glance. 

“You’re pushing it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyy guys how’s finals week for those who have it? It’s kicking my ass but good luck to those who are also suffering/have already suffered.   
> Have a good night/day! 
> 
> Also, I’m thinking about adding Peppers soulmate maybe, any suggestions on who they should be? (Any gender is Gucci or I could make an OC who knows man.)
> 
> Random Question- Favorite color?


	5. Stephen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s up guys

Okay, maybe he wouldn’t call. 

It had been over a week since that dinner, and Stark still hadn’t (As far as he knew) tried to contact him. He had been so confident in his plan that he never thought that maybe..Tony had already found someone?

But that didn’t explain his look of surprise and slight excitement when he saw his mark. 

Stephens mind was going a mile a minute with thoughts when all he was trying to do is get some damn paperwork done. 

Christine came in during her break and watched him for a bit before sitting down and sliding him a cup of coffee. 

“You look like you need it.” She said, once he’d looked up from his papers. 

“You look good too.” He responded, ignoring the burning of his tongue and throat as he downed the entire cup. 

“Would a thank you really be that hard.” She joked. 

“Maybe. But I suspect bribery, so wise one, what is it you need?” He asked innocently. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it, before finally choosing her words. 

“Am I that easy to read?” She asked. 

“I know you well enough to know that you never do anything without an interior motive.” He replied. 

“Well..it’s not bribery per se, because either way I would’ve found out..maybe a way to soften you up?”

“What do you want?” He sighed, exasperated. 

“Has he called?”

“Straight to the point, I like it.” He teased. 

“Yeah, unlike you. Answer the question.” She shot back. 

“You tried to bribe me!”

“It was to make you more likely to answer! I could’ve found out by going through the phone records but I wanted to be nice! Now I’m off track, thanks to you, so answer the damn question!” She threw up her hands, sighing dramatically. 

“Alright alright.” Stephen relented, rolling his eyes. “No, he has not called yet. And don’t you dare say-“

“I told you so!” She said, almost gleefully. 

“You’re the one who said we should go to that dinner, so why do you sound so happy he didn’t call?!” He almost wished he didn’t ask, but too late. 

“Three reasons! One, so I could say I told you so because you definitely deserve it. Two so I could  
make you look dumb and say you could’ve done it yourself by calling Pepper Potts, his pretty little secretary. Three so you could get your shit together and do it yourself!” She responded triumphantly. 

“Why do you know so much.”

“One Google search gives a lot of information, honey.” She responded. 

“So, if you know all of that, what’s the number?” He knew Christine was awful with remember phone numbers, and this was just going to tick her off, which was his end goal. 

“Low blow, Strange.” She said, and dramatically placed her hand over her heart. “I don’t know, I can barely remember my own number. Google it!” She responded and walked out of the break room, ignoring Stephens snickering. 

“You better have it done by the end of the week or I will have your head!” She called over her shoulder, glaring at him. 

“No promises.”

“If I were you I’d make some promises!”

He should probably get that done. Christine was scary. Eh, he’ll do it later.  
•••  
It was later, and Stephen still hadn’t done it. 

He wasn’t scared to talk to him. 

He could do it. 

Okay, maybe not, but if he didn’t at least try to call Christine would kill him, so he picked up his phone and dialed the number, his finger hovering with uncertainty over the call button. What was he going to say? Especially if he actually got connected to Tony? 

He took a deep breath and pressed the button. It rang a few times before it answered. He put his phone to his ear and heard loud elevator music. He sighed and put his phone on speaker, and waited for someone to answer. He rehearsed everything he was going to say until after a few minutes, someone spoke. 

“Pepper Potts.” A friendly sounding women said. He remembered Christine saying something about her. That she was his secretary, if he remembered correctly. 

“Yes, May I speak with Mr. Stark?” He asked, clearing his throat. 

“May I ask who’s calling?” She responded. 

“Uh..Doctor Strange, I’m a neurosurgeon.” He said, fidgeting awkwardly. 

“Ah..yes. Well, unfortunately Tony is out, but I can take a message.” She sounded surprised, but seemed to have kept her composure. 

“Oh..umm..can you just tell him..tell him that I called?” He asked. 

“Of course. Thank you for calling, I’ll get back to you soon.” She responded 

“Thank you.” He sighed and hung up the phone, tossing it on the coffee table in front of him. 

That was an awful call, but he called nevertheless. 

Small victories and all that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey bros. Thanks for reading! I finished finals, they kicked my ass but I finished! How did yours go? 
> 
> So, a few said I should do BlackPepper for Peppers soulmate, which I can work with. I’m thinking of also doing something for Christine, I was set on making her more of a background character, but I really like the friendship aspect between her and Stephen. Thoughts? Not sure who I would make her soulmate though. 
> 
> Random Question- Favorite fictional character?


	6. Tony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony fucked up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry it’s been awhile, finals kicked my ass. But it’s summer vacation now and I should be posting more often!!

Tony was in his office when Pepper came in. 

And she had her look on. 

“Hello Tony.” She slid into one of the chairs in his office and fixed her look on him. 

“Umm..did I do something?” He racked his brain trying to remember something he said or did that Pepper wouldn’t of liked, but he was drawing a blank. 

“Oh, no. It’s not what you did do, it’s what you didn’t do.” She said, not dropping her gaze. 

“Well..” he tried his damn hardest to remember some sort of missed deadline or forgotten meeting or something, and he got nothing. He stared back at her blankly, and she eventually dropped her gaze and rubbed her temples. 

“The hospital called.” She said, obviously trying to prompt him in some way. 

“Is..is someone dying?” He was not trying to annoy her, but he was so lost. 

“You never called Strange.” She (finally) said accusingly. “You said you would.”

“Well...I said I could call him, I never said I would.” He tried. 

“Bullshit, you know you meant you’d call him.” He could hear the exasperation in her voice. 

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry. Did he leave a message?” He did his best to sound apologetic so Pepper wouldn’t yell at him, because this woman was scary. 

“All he said was to tell you he called.” She said. “I don’t know why he didn’t leave some sort of number to call or something, but I guess he also wants to be difficult.” She snapped. 

“Well...okay I’m sorry..” He said, and he actually meant it. She cocked her head to the side and stared at him for a bit before speaking again. 

“Tony, do you or do you not want this?” She sounded almost wistful, but Tony couldn’t tell. 

“What do you mean?” He responded, confused. 

“Do you want this?” She repeated. “People search their whole lives to find their soulmates, some never becoming lucky enough to do so. So, are you going to let this chance slip through your fingers?” 

Tony thought about what she’d said. He has been with both women and men before, granted, he did think his soulmate was a woman, but it’s not the fact that it was a guy that was holding him back. He didn’t know what was. But something was making him second guess himself at every time he thought of Strange. 

“Yes. I do want this.” He responded with a definite tone, that he hoped didn’t reveal his underlined worry. 

“Good.” Pepper stood up, smoothed her suit and nodded to him. “I need to get back to work. Call him back. Today.” Pepper left the room and Tony sighed. Her question kept replaying in his head. 

Did he want this?  
•••  
Tony stares at the phone on his desk. 

He should’ve called. 

But he didn’t. 

And now Strange might be gone forever. 

Sure, he already had a media shitstorm on his hands since he told the world he was Iron Man, but that wouldn’t be an excuse he could tell Strange. 

If he got the chance to tell Strange anything. 

God he was such an idiot. 

He numbly watched the news, detailing the car crash that world- renowned neurologist, Stephen Strange was in. He was taken into immediate surgery, and no more news was given on his condition. 

Tony was in such..shock? Disbelief? That the mounting pain in his arm seemed to not even be there. He should’ve been there for him. What would’ve happened if he had called?

He couldn’t just sit there coming up with what if scenarios. He needed to see him. 

Ignoring the pain in his arm, he got up and grabbed his jacket, and drove to the hospital, trying to come up with an apology or an explanation or something to say. 

He had nothing. 

Probably because there wasn’t anything to say. 

He fucked up. Majorly. 

And this time, it could cost him something. Something that’s not replaceable. 

Guess money can’t buy everything, huh?

He’d have to wait. 

“Doctor Strange is currently in surgery, condition unstable. But, you can wait here and I’ll update you on his recovery.” A nurse said, and gave him a small, sympathetic look whilst leading him to a small waiting room. 

Because at the moment, waiting is all he could do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo I hope you liked this chapter! I plan on it getting more IronStrange fluff but I keep pushing it back because plot yikes. Anyway, I’ll post soon! Thanks for reading!
> 
> Random Question- Favorite musical artist(s)?


	7. Stephen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Stephens car crash  
> Ft. A distressed Christine and a worried Tony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy!

One second. 

One stupid second, he turned. Then, he saw red. And pain shot through him. He heard sirens in the distance, growing closer. He knew he should stay awake. But, the blood oozing from his head was making that task rather difficult. 

He thought of Christine. She was a good friend to him, always helping him after hours and hours of surgery. 

The pain was getting worse. 

He thought of the dinner he was supposed to be attending. Would they notice he’s late? He was never late to anything. 

The pain was almost unbearable at this point, but he needed to stay conscious. 

He thought of Tony. Would Tony be worried once he heard? Would he visit? Or was the blood loss getting to him and was he becoming delusional?

The pain was numbing. He couldn’t feel much anymore, but the sirens were coming closer. 

“Sir, we need you to stay awake.” He heard a female voice as he fought for consciousness. 

“Sir, can you tell me your name?” The Same paramedic asked him again. This time, he lost the fight. Everything went black.  
•••  
Stephen woke up in a hospital room. The first person he saw was Christine, her brown hair tied into a messy ponytail. He tried to sit up, but pain shot through his spine and his hands. He blinked a few times to clear his vision, and saw that they were being held in the air. 

“Chris-Christine?” His voice sounded awful, even to himself. 

“Steph!” Christine looked at him with bloodshot eyes, and walked over to him. “Should I get a nurse?” She stood awkwardly off to the side, like she didn’t know how to approach him.

“Nah, I want to wake up some first. Help me sit up?” Christine nodded and helped him adjust before he noticed Tony also in the room. 

It may be a bad time, but Stephen couldn’t help be embarrassed that Tony saw him like this. He looked so good in his sweats and Stephen..well he lets just say he didn’t want to see his reflection. 

“To-Tony?” Stephen was surprised to see him. He looked up from his lap wearing some sort of gray- tinted sunglasses. 

“Hey Doc.” Tony sounded tired, even to him. But he gave him a weak smile. 

“W-What happened?” He couldn’t remember much about the accident, and hoped he would be able to get out of the hospital sometime soon. 

That hope died when he watched Christine and Tony exchange worried glances. Even though it was their first time meeting, they looked to have established some sort of baseline friendship between them. 

After about a minute of some sort of telepathic argument they seemed to be having, Christine appeared to have lost and sighed heavily. 

“Well..” She fidgeted with her hands and sat on a chair next to his bed. Tony shot her a sympathetic glance, but didn’t say anything. 

Another bad sign. Christine was a straightforward person and never beat around the bush. 

“Just give it to me straight.” He said. Tony delicately raised an eyebrow at Christine, but still remained silent. 

“In the accident..your hands got jammed into the dashboard..and that..” She muttered something under her breath and trailed off. 

“And that?” Stephen tried to prompt her. 

“And..oh Stephen I’m so sorry..” She started to cry, wiping her tears away with shaky hands. Tony stood up and walked over, leaned against the wall, and put his hand on her shoulder. 

“They got jammed in the dashboard.” He continued for her, not meeting his eyes. “Which shattered the bones..and that, in turn, damaged the nerves that control your fine motor skills.” Christine stayed quiet, and Stephen couldn’t tell if she was still crying because her head was hanging. 

“So..what does that mean for..for my career?” He asked, not wanting the answer. 

“It..it means..” Christine started, without looking up. She was stopped short- much to her relief- by a nurse knocking at the door. 

“Hello, is this a bad time?” A short nurse with a lot of freckles poked her head in. 

“No, it’s fine.” Tony said, pulling Christine away from the bedside. The nurse looked from Tony to Christine to Stephen, and then back at Tony. Stephen realized how weird they probably looked, with Tony in his tracksuit and glasses and whatever was glowing in his chest, (The fact that Stephen didn’t notice it at the gala just shows that he was either really nervous or Tony just did that good of a job hiding it.), Christine in her messy ponytail  
and running makeup, with sweatshirt over her scrubs. Stephen probably looked the most normal, and he had his hands suspended in the air. 

“Alright. I’m Savannah, your nurse for the time being.” Savannah walked over to his bedside and started checking the stitching. It hurt like hell, but he was more focused on Tony and Christine. They were both talking in hushed voices and Stephen could only make out bits and pieces of their conversation. 

“Alright, so the stitching looks fine, no sign of infection. So, I’ll leave you three to talk.” She grabbed her clipboard and walked away. But before she closed the door she turned and looked back at Stephen. “Also, I’m sorry. Truly.” She shut the door and Stephen went back to looking at Christine for answers. 

Tony stood up and grabbed his phone. “I’m gonna leave you two to talk. I need to call Pepper and get a report of damage control anyway.” He saw Stephen’s confused look and laughed slightly. “It’s a long story.” He gave Chris a mix between a good luck and an I’m sorry and walked out. 

“So..we ran tests on your hands. There were multiple surgeries done to try and save them..but..” She broke off. 

“But?” It came out more sharply than intended, but he needed to know. 

“As Tony explained earlier, you completely shattered the bones, which severely damaged your nerves. You will have minimal use of your hands, like eating and such, but they will shake badly.” She sounded more like she was talking to a patient than her coworker, but he could tell it was taking a lot of energy. “According to the doctors, you will never perform surgery again.” She said it bluntly, more like her old self. 

“What? No. They didn’t. Why would you tell me this? They can fix it! They have to!” He shouted. He saw her flinch momentarily, but he didn’t care. This news hurt more than his hands. 

“I told you because you’re my friend!” She snapped. “I thought I would give you the courtesy of telling you myself, but obviously that was a mistake. I should’ve left that pleasure to the doctors that spent over a full day working on your hands. Oh wait, I was one of them! If you want me to treat you like one of my patients, I will! There is nothing you can do!” She stood up, with tears streaming down her face. 

“Oh wow that’s rich coming from the person whose career isn’t ruined!” He shouted back. 

“There’s nothing I can do about it! I’ve tried! We all have!” She turned on her heel and started towards the door. “I’ll come back later.”

“Don’t bother.” Stephen mummered, And she left. He heard sobbing and Tony comforting her from the other side of the wall. He didn’t care. He didn’t care about her, or Tony, or anyone. He just focused on how he could fix this. 

He had to fix this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it’s been so long! I hope you liked the chapter!
> 
> Fun fact- The nurse is based off my best friend. 
> 
> I take requests!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! How’s life? If you guys have any ideas/prompts for my other series, comment them if u want. 
> 
> Also, I suck at endings so I’m sorry.


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